Prof. Dr. Axel Dignass said the data show that Adacolumn provided clinical benefit in steroid-dependent patients with UC with previous failure to biologics…

New data has been presented for Otsuka’s Adacolumn in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

Data from the 48-week ART trial showed that remission and response rates were 37.2% and 53.2% respectively at week 12, in patients with moderate-to-severe, steroid-dependent active UC with insufficient response or intolerance to immunosuppressants and / or biologics when treated with between five and eight sessions with Adacolumn.

Adacolumn is a non-pharmacological treatment which reduces inflammation by removing white blood cells from the blood circulation. This reduces the inflammatory burden without the risk of side effects attributed to drugs in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as active UC.

UC is associated with an imbalance of leukocytes, which play a key role in inflammation. In UC, these inflammatory cells migrate into the intestinal mucosa at twice the normal levels causing mucosal inflammation. Targeting leukocytes or their communication is the rationale behind most IBD treatments.

Adacolumn may be an alternative to elective surgery

Commenting on the new data, Prof. Dr. Axel Dignass, Agaplesion Markus Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany, said: “Ulcerative colitis is a debilitating disease with increasing prevalence and affects many young people. Ultimately, the goal of our treatment is to induce steroid-free clinical remission. However, patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis and their healthcare professionals are faced with many hard choices, particularly when it comes to choosing the best treatment, since many have side effects that severely impact quality of life and may even be life-threatening.

“The ART data have shown that there is an alternative for this difficult-to-treat population with a favourable safety profile that can delay the need for irreversible surgery. In addition, it is important to note that colectomy rates were comparable to those seen in anti-TNFs trials with stricter selection criteria. This shows that Adacolumn may be an alternative to elective surgery when compared to anti-TNFs in a less-selected population.”

Prof. Dr. Dignass added: “Ultimately, these data show that Adacolumn provided clinical benefit in a large cohort of steroid-dependent patients with ulcerative colitis with previous failure to biologics.”